Opener Jaiswal hits century on debut as India take control

Yashasvi Jaiswal joined his captain and partner Rohit Sharma as scorer of a century on his Test debut as their opening stand of 229 put India in absolute command at 245 for two in reply to the meagre West Indies first innings total of 150 at tea on the second day of the first Test in Dominica on Thursday.
Jaiswal, the 21-year-old left-hander, remains unbeaten on 116 going into the final session of the day after Sharma (103) fell the delivery after completing his tenth Test hundred.
He was swiftly joined back in the pavilion by Shubman Gill to give the Caribbean side a measure of satisfaction at the end of the session following five fruitless hours.
Former captain Virat Kohli will partner Jaiswal at the start of the post-tea session and India should be keen to extend their lead closer to the 200-run mark by the end of the day given the rapid deterioration of the pitch.
That has encouraged the West Indies slow bowlers and will no doubt present an even greater threat to the home side in their second innings when they again face up to the double spin threat of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
Sedate in the morning period, Jaiswal and Sharma were more positive in mid-afternoon as the West Indies wilted in the blistering heat.
For all the efforts of the specialist slow bowlers, it was the part-timer, Alick Athanaze, who finally got the breakthrough when Sharma gloved an indecisive forward prod for alert wicketkeeper Joshua da Silva to sprint forward and take the catch.
Gill, in his preferred position of number three, fell to the left-arm spin of Jomel Warrican, edging a sharp turner to Athanaze at gully as the Dominican continued to make the West Indies headlines the day after his topscore of 47 on debut.
Earlier left-handed Jaiswal became the 17th player from India to record three figures on Test debut.
The last one to do so was Shreyas Iyer in 2021 against New Zealand in Kanpur. Notably, his partner at the other end, Rohit Sharma, had also made a Test hundred on debut, also against West Indies, in 2013.
Jaiswal, though, is only the seventh Indian batter and the first in 13 years to score a Test hundred on debut away from home. Suresh Raina, who made 120 against Sri Lanka in 2010, is the last Indian batter to score a Test ton on debut outside India.
Jaiswal is also only the third Indian opener to make a Test hundred on debut after Shikhar Dhawan (187 v Australia, 2013) and Prithvi Shaw (134 v West Indies, 2018).
Jaiswal had played only 15 first-class games in his career before this Test, but averages over 80 in those with nine hundreds, including a stunning 265 in the second innings of the Duleep Trophy Final last year.